AUSTIN, Texas — One of the first things to cancel last year because of COVID-19 was South by Southwest (SXSW).
This year, it's going virtual. And for all of the people who used to work those shows, it's been extremely difficult.
"The Live Music Capital of the World." It's places like Empire Control Room & Garage that give Austin that title.
With COVID-19, it's had to make changes, like its Thursday night movie nights. It was Empire's way to get some people in the door while keeping people safe.
But most venues can't be open like this. Instead, they're closed and empty.
"March 14 was the last show," said Dave Machinist, one of the owners of Empire and Parish. "It's a strange balance having outdoor space like we do in Empire and not having it as we do in a place like this."
Dave and his twin brother, Mike Machinist, own both Empire and Parish, but since Parish is an indoor venue, they haven't had anyone inside.
"Yeah, we were the first to shut down, last to reopen. We can't really reopen at Parish until we know the science is correct. We don't want to contribute to any spreading event and we want to do the right thing, along with the rest of the venues in town," said Dave Machinist.
"We're starting to see light on the horizon for hopefully a more engaged recovery," said Cody Cowan, the Red River Cultural District's executive director.
The cultural district has been helping venues and workers in the industry throughout the pandemic.
"Ninety-eight percent of the people I know have been unemployed for a year now, and our industry has been surviving off of fumes," said Cowan.
SXSW's cancellation last year, and changes that are happening this year, also play into the hardship. That's a fact that the head of the music festival, James Minor, understands.
"You know, Red River is one of the last clusters of walkable music venues in the U.S.," said Minor. "If we were to lose something like that, it would change the face of Austin."
It's also the lost jobs for those who worked at the venues.
"The Red River Cultural District has been instrumental in keeping our employees either in food or in opportunity," said Dave.
They're helping until more places can reopen and get people back to work.
"We have a shot at sticking around forever. We gon' make it, we gon' make it," said the Machinists.
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